Is it DC or voltage that will kill you?

Answer 1

DC is very very unlikely as it doesn't travel the same as AC does. Also DC typically is at much lower voltages and is easier to ground. DC shocks even at high amps haven't been fatal as the body usually jerks back from the source. AC even a low voltages but with amperage has been known to make people hold onto the voltage source and their muscles spasm as well as their heart leading to death. DC tends to make the more direct path to ground as AC is known to travel outside of it's known physic's laws.

Even though it's the year 2013 ans we can go the moon. Science is still debating if electricity passes to ground or if it passes from the ground. Which may be part of the mystery behind a persons who's foot was wet and yet the AC shot across the person heart and down their arm onto a metal pole. According to physics that's 'impossible'. Voltage supposedly always goes to nearest ground. However- to answer your question CAN DC kill? Answer is yes even though far less likely than a AC source of same voltage and current. The industry clearly states voltage makes little difference unlike current when it comes to fatality which is documented to be fatal at 1/10th of a Amp.

Answer 2

Many people have been killed by direct current. The most frequent deaths caused by direct current are the result of people being struck by the direct current in lightning discharges between rain clouds and the ground Earth. Direct current used in some domestic appliances such as TV's, and in commercial applications including subway and streetcar power systems, is just as dangerous as alternating current, and severe injury or death can result from accidental contact with 'live' electric wires.

Answer 3

It is the amount of current passing through your body, not the voltage itself, that can potentially kill you. Voltage is what drives the current, so high voltage levels can be dangerous because they can create a high current flow through your body.

Answer 4

in simple terms current kills not voltage.